Cove Lane property owners seek rezoning

Property owners near the proposed Cove Lane roundabout are asking the city of Lake Charles to rezone land from a residential
to a mixed-use district.

The City Council on Wednesday voted to
allow one piece of property at 2831 Kiwanis Lane to be changed from
residential to
mixed use. There are 10 pieces of property total. The remaining
nine property owners along the interstate corridor have submitted
applications for a map amendment that will be considered by the
Planning and Zoning Commission in August. If they’re approved,
the property owners will go before the City Council.

Jane Taylor, who resides at 2722
Magnolia Lane, said she is against changing the proposed properties. She
owns property north
of the land and is concerned about increased traffic, signage and
the area losing its residential feel.“People in this city need a place
to go that is not going to be in constant competition with commercial
properties,” Taylor
told the City Council.

Ken Moss, at 3528 W. Prien Lake Road, is a homeowner just south of the property wanting to change to mixed use.

From the perspective of a resident — not a landowner — Moss said residents move by the lake to have a residential area to
live in that is quiet.

“In the 10 years that I’ve been there I’ve seen an enormous amount of traffic increase,” Moss told the City Council. “It’s
dangerous and almost impossible to get out of your driveway as it is now. It is going to be absolute chaos.”

Permitted uses in a mixed-use
classification may be a church, school or property with public uses. But
any commercial intrusion,
like a retail store, hotel, or bed and breakfast, in a mixed-use
zoning classification would require a conditional-use permit.

The councilman for District G where the land is located said he was in favor of the change.

“That’s just personal property rights, and I think we need to stand by that,” said Mark Eckard.

Eckard said he hopes for there to be a buffer between residential and mixed use. He said each application will be looked at
on a “case by case basis.”

In other business, Luvertha August was elected president, and Stuart Weatherford was elected vice president.